West Vancouver police hunt for Grinder scam artist

West Vancouver police are looking to arrest a man who’s alleged to have scammed two others out of thousands of dollars through the dating app Grindr.

Christian Michael Lee Richardson, 39, is alleged to have befriended two men through the app, and offered to help them out financially, according to police. The victims made separate reports to police in October 2017.

The victims were allegedly encouraged to set up bank accounts in their name and cash cheques provided to them by the suspect, who went by both Richard and “Quantum” on the app.

It’s alleged Richardson then encouraged the victims to share the cash with him or buy him things. Both victims reported losses of more than $3,000.

“Investigators believe it is possible additional victims have not yet contacted police,” Const. Sandra Rijken said in a news release Wednesday.

Richardson, who has no fixed address, has been charged with two counts of theft under $5,000, two counts of fraud under $5,000 and one count of uttering a forged document.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts, or believes they may have been targeted, is asked to call police.